Windows Phone 8 details revealed in Nokia-partner video

According to Pocketnow, they've seen a video hosted by senior vice president and Windows Phone manager Joe Belfiore (see our interview) meant for Nokia and their partners. In the video, new details of Windows Phone 8 (aka 'Apollo') are revealed, of which there are many.

Four new screen resolutions (though exact dimensions not revealed)

Multicore processors

NFC support for a new "Wallet experience" e.g. wireless payments and tap-to-share

Server side data compression for Internet Explore 10 to reduce data traffic and speed up browsing

128-bit native BitLocker data encryption for Enterprise

That certainly is a lot and we're sure just the tip of the iceberg in regards to Windows Phone 8. Clearly Microsoft is gearing up to talk about WP8 in the next few months, so we should start to expect a steady flow of information coming forward soon. What do you folks think? Pleased with the direction Microsoft is heading?

My biggest concern is regarding the return of ActiveSync and the dropping of Zune, especially if it's not "native" enough. So will Zune desktop software be completely discontinued now? Will we be syncing music to the phone through Activesync now? I actually like the Zune software - perhaps I'm the only one?
My other concern is while increased skydrive support is good, I'm waiting for the return of an old-school MyPhone-esque text message backup support system. I guess most people don't care about their text messages, but I do and like being able to back them up. Plus, currently my Phone just deletes older text messages without warning after a while - the only way I knew this was looking at the text message thread as far back as it could go, which now is far from when I got my Quantum in the first place.

You guys are looking into this to far. Nobody said anything about getting rid of anything, just adding a better way of syncing data. Active sync is to be used as an example in theory only! The Zune client will still be downloadable, don't worry, its just that currently the windows phones ecosystem is to fragmented with the WP website's "my phone" page, the Zune client, and Skydrive all acting as file management. There just has to be a ''one stop shop'' that is less complicated. Remember WP needs to appeal to a larger audience. I'm sure this new system will have great aesthetics and function,,, haven't they done a good job so far?

I agree we need a one stop shop, oh hey remember that windows 7 device stage that never took hold. That would have been a perfect way to implement this sort of thing. Plug in your phone and the device stage for your phone opens up, and u could have a link to open Zune to start syncing media, a link to say SkyDrive for docs, and then a link for say windows live mesh for backing up data. As well as say Xbox live account backups (gamesaves) it sounds like a no brained and should've been there day one. Especially since "it all starts with a windows 7 PC"

Yeah I know - if you've had your phone for a while, go to a text thread for someone you text a lot and see if you have your texts from when you first have your phone. I can only go so far back and it looks like the phone just deletes older ones.

I just checked the threads for my sister and best friend, both of whom I text a lot. One goes to June 2011 and the other April 2011, and I got the phone (and almost certainly texted them) back in October/November 2010 when Amazon had that deal for the LG Quantum for 50 bucks without having to renew your phone contract.

More than likely, Zune will get rolled into the Windows store and the updated Activesync will just be used for synchronization and device management. It makes the most sense since we do know that Windows 8 will have a store and that the XBox will need access to both the mediafiles and the cloud. It may even be that you will stream most of the media from the cloud since the Zune Pass recently gave up the 10 free songs a month. I think we will get more details at MWC or Build.

Very good point, I guess the fact that the article says Zune will be "going away" gave me the wrong idea. I think that would actually be great. Kind of how the Zune hardware was replaced by Windows Phone, which is essentially a better Zune.

Yes, but Zune has a very small fan base. Xbox's fan base is huge. Some people will pay $40 bucks for an HDMI cable instead of using a perfectly good Monoprice or Amazon cable for less than $5 just because it says Xbox on it. For that reason, I think a rebrand to Xbox Media would be good. Especially if they had you download it to easily share files between your computer and your Xbox.

I am so happy that Zune is discontinued. I hate systems like this and like iTune. There are such a mess. Let me manage my files from any PC and don't force me to use a proprietary software.
I am also so happy about the SD card slot.
Finally WP7 ceases to be this terrible locked down OS. Leave the stupid "closed OS" philosophy to iPhone and please go back to the openess that made the force and advantage of WinMo yesterday and the force of Android nowadays.
I just hope the above are not rumours.
If true, I have no reason to buy any new WP7 phone (they are all underpowered with limited storage and features). I am waiting for WP8 !

I'm not a fan of Zune Desktop or iTunes either, so I'm cool with them dropping it. I'm concerned about how they'll be able to support microSD in a way that doesn't negatively impact OS performance or multimedia management.

@thierryphotos75
The reason WP7 is so successful is because of how much it is locked down. Opening it up like Android is a terrible idea. I hope MS keeps the system the way it is. I like having a solid OS.

Not digging the dropping of Zune software. Especially since I have a Zune HD as well as my HTC Arrive. How will that sync now? Plus I like the software better than Media Player. Get rid of that, if anything. Or combine them.

I agree, I love the Zune software! I hope they don't discontinue it. Zune is way better than iTunes. The thing I really want MS to fix is the update process for the phones. Clearly most of the US carriers don't care about us WP7 users to get us our updates. My keyboard is always disappearing on me and because of a certain AT&T I have no hope for the update anytime soon. I hope that MS comes up with an easy way for us to update our phones without the carriers or start giving the carriers deadlines to approve updates. Long live Windows Phone!

The problem with Zune is that you are bound to a specific PC. Everytime you want to manage your library, add some songs, you have to connect to your PC. This is everything but logical and convenient.
Zune is lovely, has a very beautiful interface, but (only my personal experience) I find it just makes things more complicated.
Drag & Drop remains the easiest way to transfer video and music files. You can do it from any PC, without be forced to download a specific software, log in, convert, sync, etcetera, etcetera. It's freedom.

I remember the days of drag n drop none too fondly. Back in those days, it was a pain, as you had to make sure you had your file structures 'just so' to make sure the phone software could see it, or the phone software would have to scan the storage to build a new list. Couldn't stand it.
That being said, what I'd like to see is a unified media interface (in the Metro style sort of like Zune) that comes with the operating system, and allows for syncing of more file types. There'd be no need for installing the sync software at home/work, as it's built in, and it would use your Live ID to match things up with cloud storage.
This same interface would also be your default music/video player, and have the robust codec support that Windows Media Player currently has. Zune is a better music interface than WMP, but WMP has better codec support. Media Center is by far the superior "10 foot interface", though Metro works well in that context.
There's no real technical reason that I can see from MS to build an all-in-one media experience a la iTunes (without the crappy iTunes UI of course).

Absolutely! I agree. I love Zune, but I love drag and drop more. It would be cool if the phone offered the option to connect to Zune (useful when at home) or use as a mass storage drive (for when you're using someone else's computer). It makes for a great compromise.

The problem with Zune is that you are bound to a specific PC. Everytime you want to manage your library, add some songs, you have to connect to your PC. This is everything but logical and convenient.
Zune is lovely, has a very beautiful interface, but (only my personal experience) I find it just makes things more complicated.
Drag & Drop remains the easiest way to transfer video and music files. You can do it from any PC, without be forced to download a specific software, log in, et cetera. It's freedom.

The only things I really care about from that last are the better Skydrive inegration, expanded storage suport!

The new resolutions might be nice; but really, even though technically the PPI of the iPhone 4s is higher then my Focus, I still think for most things my Focus looks better to me! So I am not too concerned with that.

And I only want dual core if I can also somehow get better battery life!

Microsoft should buy a few hours of prime time tv slots and due a documentary about the Future in Microsoft's world. Tie in the fate of the country, its economy, the internet and the home computer with Microsoft and its various products and innovations to come. Like the "Future According to Ford" series. A perfect moment to connect with the current generation, show off Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and whatever else they have up their sleeve. Something like that could be a big boon for Microsoft.

No,No.. You don't want to make LTE a requirement! WP needs to be marketable at different price ranges, and inside different markets. A high specification requirement, such as LTE, would make this not possible... Ya dig? All LTE needs is to be supported..

Ok... I get that you are moving away from the Zune. Not because it is a bad product (hardware and software was amazing), but because clueless isheep idiots dragged the name through the mud without ever having even touched either aspect. But for God's sake... Zune software DOES CIRCLES AROUND iTUNES. Do not get rid of it totally. You want to dump the name? Fine. But the way it looks and works is spot on.
Secondly.... Enough with 13 programs that all do one similar feature here and another there. To many Microsoft programs that do similar crap. Dump Media Player, Media Center, Live Photo Gallery, etc. and wind them all into what ever you turn the Zune software into.
Let me manage and edit photos and videos WITHIN the 'Zune' software. Let me view live TV and set TV recordings within the 'Zune' software. Let me view ALL my different video formats THROUGH the 'Zune' software. Let me continue to manage my music, videos, photos, etc though the 'Zune' software. Let me continue to sync my media and files with my Windows Phone THROUGH the 'Zune' software.
In a nutshell....
1. Keep the Zune software and name it whatever floats your boat.
2. Expand the Zune software to take over the small tasks over similar but repetetive Microsoft software.
3. Eleminate similar software to end the confusion, incompatability, and clutterness.

Thank you!!
Even though I think Zune software can use some updates (cosmetic changes mostly), it was and is a great application! Plus, ActiveSync brings back the old memories of Windows Mobile X versions.

I seriously have a bad feeling about Zune Desktop going away in exchange for a more native, sync relationship application i.e. the return of ActiveSync. MS needs to adapt one brand and just grow with it. Wether its Windows Media Player, Zune, Windows Media Center or XBox Media. The company has enough potential to create a great application, but not enough commitment to it (atleast in case of media management).

The features might be available but not necessarily on a single smartphone OS. i.e. Apple supports 2 resolutions, Apple doesn't suport removable media and I don't think there is a pre installed browser that supports compression. And mutlicore processors could be very interesting on WP8 if they are using the Window 8 kernel. It could be the first true multi processor mobile OS, where the performance actually increase. That might explain also why they are also bringing over the networking and multimedia stuff since they would make use of multi processors on a mobile OS.

Active sync will be a part of Zune... MSFT must stop the practice of discontinuing,renaming stuff... Please.. We all know whatever improvement windowsphone will have is always gonna be good for the users.. We dont want buggy,laggy,spammy, inconsistent name #ANDROID..

Oh man, I love all this, especially the app-to-app integration. But also the rest! So happy :D
Only concern is Zune software. Still wish that I could use it if I wanted to. But a minor complaint in a sea of awesome!

If you have a look at Thurrott's posting, he is talking about advanced Exchange ActiveSync policies not the old Windows Mobile sync method. Here's what he is saying about the Zune replacement:Companion experiences with Windows 8. Microsoft is offering a very similar user experience across phone (Windows Phone 8), PC (Windows 8), and TV (Xbox vNext). There will be a new sync client, and not Zune PC software, and a set of common cloud services that will work across all three. This includes the ability to sync content (photos, music, movies) between the three screens, phone management from PC or web, shared content between each device, and Xbox LIVE games, entertainment, and more.
ActiveSync is not mentioned.

Omg. I had picked up an iPhone off contract to get me through till Apollo (iPhones have great resale value). I was really liking it and considering making the switch permenant, but iOS 6 would really have to be amazing to keep me from windows now!

microSD cards are inexpensive and come in many sizes. Therefore, you can get the phone you like and also the right amount of storage. They're kind of like thumb drives. Inexpensive, convenient, and ubiquitous.

i hope they add a notification center by swiping to the right. and i hope this does not take away from zune music pass because i loooove the zune music pass and i dont wanna got to some other stupid thing like rhapsody or w.e the hells out right now.

Oh god. Early morning I get up to see this and now I need to go wash my pants. All this is driving me crazy. I have an Omnia 7, was waiting for lumia 800,until lumia 900 was announced, and now this. When do I UPGRADE!;;!!:-(

"I like the Zune client", "don't bring back ActiveSync"!! Ppl are really saying this?! Really? And you all wonder why wp7 still get confused with windows mobile and it being clunky and bad . Just because it's like ActiveSync don't mean it's ActiveSync of old! As far as I'm concerned if I get SD card and backup I'm good.

No, man, you are not the only one! :)
WinMo had some great advantages (that Microsoft wasted): flexibility, openness, USB mass storage, file explorer. It was a kind of pocket PC. you could do whatever you wanted. (unfortunately it was messy, not stable and not reliable).
I hate Microsoft because they tried so much to copy the iPhone and its terrible locked down philisophy. Zune is a copy of iTunes. The absence of file explorer and slot for SD card is the same.
They dropped some precious advantages. Finally most WinMo users switched to Android and never joined WP7, because of this.
And don't say WP7 focuses on mass consumer markets and non techies. Android is the most popular OS. Customers actually like to be able to do whatever they want, just like on their home PC. They like freedom and flexibility (that WP7 does not have).

Higher resolution, NFC, multi core... Why would anyone buy a Lumia 900 in june (rumoured EU release date) with all of this around the corner? Nokia really needs to release that phone worldwide next month.

I agree with most people, zune is great. it helps me organize my music easily, and sync quickly. Now, MS is not stupid, if they are removing zune its for and even better sync option. MS has been great, after vista, with listening to the demands of the consumer. But i really want to be able to open word docs through skydrive, and actually open in the correct format, instead of everything being lined up on the left.

Dual Core ?!?!?! that most likely means 1080p recording! cant wait and also heavier games will run flawlessly. I just really hope tmobile doesnt get the lower end phones... like the lumia 710 instead of the 800,900. i know tmobile is a value plan oriented service but we want high end phones too!
all in all really excited for w8! and lots of ideas in that suggestion app are prolly making its way to the os.

If they can get this out this year it would be amazing. Other than quad core's, which will be prevelent on Android it looks like have added everything that needed to be added. I can finally jump on board now that they are will offer micro sd expansion.
too bad the Lumia 900 is already outdated hardware.

Yes, but I hate it when microsoft seems to leave the current WP7 Mango OS adopters to fend for themselves in an ecosystem that is far from ripe. I understand the idea of making money out of patents and putting them to market, but lets start thinking of business models and non-business support to increase the lasting value of windows phone 7. I mean I only just bought an HTC Tian with WP7 Mango. A great phone and OS. But the system still has essential quircks that need to ironered out. These solutions can also add lasting value for apollo. So progression is good, but sometimes holding back can also be a good thing. If my purchase of a WP7 Mango OS on a smartphone counts as a bought bond, I vote for an investment in adopting solutions proposed in the MS solution box for WP7!!! For me right now Apollo may move on to 2013. I first want to see work on support with windows phone 7 with windows 8. I remember simmilar promises of free upgrades for windows phone 7 on the HD2 by Microsoft. Never happened. I am still scetpitcal of the interaction between W8 with WP7. I think in the business mind of MS WP7 Mango is a done deal. We waisted our money on WP7 Mango, and have to start working double shifts to move on to buy a new system. The cruel reality of every day life???

Do you really think Microsoft will not update Mango phones. They were just announced, some not even released yet. I imagine original WP7 will get it as well. If Microsoft has any brains when they came out with the WP8 specs that already knew what direction they were going to go in.

Well, I don't ever think I've waste my money, ffs, I'm in a WP site I do have a so, I'd feel silly to just wait forever and never buy anything, but I had a pre Mango which was updated (took forever, can only imagine Apollo), but still, I think MS learned what Apple's doing good, keeping backwards compatibility.

I don't really care for the Zune software. Not sure if I think they should scrap it entirely. At the very least, revamp it and hope for a more esthetically pleasing and IMO, user friendly experience like iTunes. And maybe its the fact that I have owned Apple products and iTunes for so long that I am just used to the format. But I just find iTunes much more to the point than Zune. Zune is way to overdone and could use a more streamlined approach. 100 times ditto for the Marketplace on WP

Why would MS dump Zune? MS isn't stupid and I believe the whole experience will be baked into W8. I like the idea of having everything in the cloud like iCloud. All your media can be accessed from my Xbox, WP, Laptop and tablet. Sweet! As for not being able to upgrade a WP7 device to WP8, I'm sure they'll support Mango for some time following WP8. I really like the WP7 ecosystem as is, but I would have something to look forward to in getting a WP8 device. Now just get Verizon to get off their arse!

Seems to me that half the comments on here are gripping about MSFT abandoning Zune. The article does not say they are discontinuing Zune, simply that your phone won't depend on it for synching music, videos etc... I couldn't be happier about it. I want to be able to treat my phone as a mass storage device. Something that android and even blackberry are capable

Over 100 comments and counting. Boy, we are kinda pumped for the "New Familiar" on WP Central, ain't we?
Boy, I hope that isn't the tagline at launch. Multi-Billion dollar company, been around since the Computer became big, and that is as good as it comes??

If wp7.5 cannot be upgraded to Apollo I am going to drop the Os unfortunately I'm not gonna be supporting another android......and i believe they will upgrade mango phones so no worries on my end just saying

A rumour from about 2 weeks ago suggested that SD cards would show up as a second location. My guess is that apps would be on internal storage, along with DRM'ed media (rentals, Zune Pass etc), while non DRM'ed media can span both.

Time to start saving for the Apollo phones :D I don't know what wp7 is like on 2nd Gen hardware but the interface can be sluggish on the focus, hopefully this can make apps as silky smooth as the inbuilt ones

This is certainly an interesting development and I am cautiously optimistic that Microsoft doesn't screw this up. A few concerns:

I worry that going to a Windows 8 kernel potentially means a much greater memory requirement for the phone. I don't want a phone bogged down with an operating system "too big" for it. To date, Microsoft and manufacturers have been unwilling to sell phones with 32 GB or even 64 GB of memory.

I also worry that the Windows 8 kernel means a larger attack surface for virus writers. I haven't had to worry about that with the Windows CE kernel and the very strict application requirements and sandbox.

I like the multicore processors and the removable microSD storage option. This approach returns some control back to the phone owner to put as much memory in the phone as they want.

The return of ActiveSync makes me cringe. While I never had issues with it, seems many, many users were always complaining about it, leading me to believe it wasn't foolproof. I haven't had any issues with "Zune sync" to date, so I am disappointed Microsoft can't stick with one approach.

Four new screen sizes worries me as an independent software developer. This harkens back to the fragmentation of Windows Mobile. I really didn't like spending all of my time reworking applications for different screen sizes/resolutions. It meant less time I could spend putting new features into apps and innovating. This is worrisome. On the other hand, having one development model common between Windows Phone and Windows 8 may facilitate easier porting of software between phone and tablet devices.
Just my 2c, on the basis of these new rumors...

There is no confirmed return of ActiveSync - that was just a lame speculation in the original article which everyone started reblogging... (not that there is anything wrong with ActiveSync as a protocol).
As for screen resolutions - that might be a concern for game developers indeed, but for apps based on XAML it shouldn't be a big issue.

WP7 was just a bad draft in my opinion, a draft inspired by iPhone concept, and WP7 customers were left holding the bag.
MS shouldn't have throw away some great and essential features present in WinMo. I miss them.

I would love having the option to either have it locked down or open it, wether you are a power user or not. Anyway you always have the back to factory defaults option. Join the best of both worlds that would be a better option in my opinion. As for Zune im not lover or hater but i believe ActiveSync will be just a rebranding strategia as Zune name was a lil bit burned out, but interface should be the most alike. Im also a drag and drop pro, i dont like be a pretty chic dummy user, i like to put things what i like, where i want. Also a file explorer would be a nice feature, maybe only avoiding system files except for that regular user. I also expect a way to sync and backup all text messages and history threads maybe in outlook or skydrive, i dont care. Give more power to the tile notifications, i believe that option and the people hub will be the drivers that will push WP as the king of OS in a future.

Ok so whatever Microsoft has in store for us. I only wish our current phone is upgradeable. I noticed 8gb wp7 phone with 6g free clean storage and only 4.5gb for wp7.5, I hope wp8 not taking too much storage which made last Gen phone unusable now that it support external storage.

Great, I was going to buy a 2nd gen device on contract this Summer/Fall. I guess there is no point as they will be fully replaced with better "8" devices, ugh...
Nice upgrades, I just hope it does not defrag the hole OS like what has happend with Anroid.